


The Dealer, the Drake, and the Heretic

by Aurya



Category: Dissidia Final Fantasy
Genre: Another Side/Another Story, Gen, Major spoilers for Type-0
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-26 10:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aurya
Summary: The occurrences of Ace, Kain Highwind, and Ramza Beoulve during the events of Dissidia NT's story mode.





	1. Welcome to the Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [discovery that there are a bare minimum of six new characters to come to Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]  
> Draco: I'm not writing ANYTHING about this game until those six are released and there's at least one story update.  
> Me: Screw that! I'm not letting my headcanon go to waste.  
> Draco: You're asking to get #Jossed. What if somebody else comes out and-  
> Me: Just because -you- can't write a -Pokémon- fanfic on the turn of the generation for fear of overcompensating, doesn't mean -I- can't write a -Dissidia- fanfic because there's DLC coming out that I don't care about.  
> Draco: [under his breath] It was one time, I thought I could get it done in a year if I hardassed it.
> 
> Okay! The most we're gonna include from the updates is battlefields. And maybe a summon if any new ones come out, but everyone except Ramuh and Alexander seemed kinda shoehorned (I can kinda understand Odin). Other than that, we're working off the base game for Dissidia NT.
> 
> Also, Ramza should be in his Virtuous Mercenary I outfit with a Platinum Sword for story mode. And Kain in his Sanctifying Dragoon I with the Dragoon Lance. That's how I'm writing these guys.

_"Might we camp here, tonight, Ramza? By the water?"_

He had long become familiar with sleeping fully armed, on less-than-cushioned ground. His sword rested at his side in arm's reach, and at a moment's notice he would be able to rise from his bedding, draw his weapon, and meet any blow that would come his way. Thus, when he began to stir as a result of having rested sufficiently, and he realized that something was amiss, he sat bolt upright, and his hand went for his blade before he realized there was no one there.

There being no one there was part of what was amiss.

"Alma?  _Alma!_ " His words reached no one, for there was no one to hear them - he stood on barren soil, and the environs surrounding him were not of Ivalice, or any region in the world he knew. "What in the Father's name...?"

A flicker of crimson, some distance away, drew his attention; a flag seemed to be flying in the wind. After a moment, it became clear it was no nation's flag - rather, it was many folds of red cloth, tied together to be more noticeable at a distance. Nor was it flying particularly high; it was tied to the shaft of a lance, which was one of many weapons gathered together in the earth.

And before them sat a boy with blonde hair... stained with streaks of blood.

Ramza immediately discarded all concerns about where he was. There was someone here wounded; he could not stand idly by, and so he seized his sword by the scabbard, affixing it to his belt as he charged forward. As he got nearer, the weapons gathered became more clear - the lance, a sword, a katana, a large mace, two revolvers, one pistol, a bow, a scythe, and a bladed whip of sorts. A pair of gloves with brass knuckles upon the back was hung over the pistol's grip, and a flute had been nestled in the grip bindings of the katana; in one of the boy's hands was what appeared to be a playing card, and his other was flat at his side, as though he had been holding the hand of someone who had woken and departed.

This was all taken in before Ramza reached him, and set a hand on his shoulder in an effort to rouse him. "Awaken... awaken!" The boy started to stir as Ramza asked, "Are you alright? Are you alive?"

The boy's empty hand made to close; then, suddenly, the boy's gaze shot up, and Ramza had only a brief glimpse of the streak of blood that trailed past his right eye before he lunged forward. Ramza stumbled back, but the boy didn't seem to have much strength, and he fell to one knee, his card falling to the ground at his side.

"...Who... Who are you?" he demanded. "Fell Lindzei, come to sink your fangs into me?"

"I know not of what you speak," Ramza insisted. "My name is Ramza Beoulve."

The boy glanced around. "Where are we?"

Ramza looked awkward. "On that, I confess I know naught." Then, when the boy raised his gaze. "Might I ask your name?"

"...Ace," the boy replied. Seizing his card, he managed to get to his feet, though his left leg didn't seem to provide the same support as his right. "Where are the others?"

"What others?" Ramza inquired.

"Don't-"

Footsteps nearby cut Ace off, causing him and Ramza to turn; a figure was approaching. But it was not human, though it seemed to be trying - its entire body and its garb was crystalline and pale aqua, and its eyes empty voids. It was clothed asymmetrically, with a single pauldron on its left shoulder supporting an obscuring sleeve, and a cape on its left side past its waist; in its right hand was seized a massive, crushing blade that seemed to be of many pieces.

Ace made to raise his card, but hadn't the strength to keep his arm raised; Ramza reached for his sword, and the crystal figure made to charge them.

And something  _descended_ upon it.

Ramza and Ace both started at the entirely unwarned arrival. The crystalline figure was impaled upon a lance, held in the grip of a figure garbed in shining armour; it was textured to resembled dragon's scales, and dragon's wings emerged from the pauldrons. His blonde hair was long and flowing, held away from his face by a circlet with similar wings upon it; he had landed weapon-first, and as they watched, he leapt from its landing without ever touching the ground himself, coming to a halt not a pace away. He turned to them with a fierce, yet not hostile, gaze, and when he spoke they would not have questioned his voice had it come from a dragon.

"I take it you two are not familiar with one another."

Ace groaned in pain, falling to his knee; Ramza turned to him suddenly, and the dragon knight made to step forward. Ace quickly raised a hand insistently, causing them both to halt; then he got to his feet again, and a white light appeared in his palm. He raised it skyward, and a healing light washed over him; then he took a deep breath, and his stance seemed to be more balanced.

The dragon knight shook his head. "I mean you no harm, if that is what you fear." He turned to his impaled lance; the crystal figure was starting to fade away in a shimmering light, and he quickly pulled the weapon from the earth in his left hand.

"Who are you?" Ramza inquired.

"Kain," the dragon knight insisted.

"I'm Ace."

"Ramza."

Kain nodded. "This seems to be your first time here," he observed. "Welcome to the fight."

His face betrayed his shock; Ramza blinked, surprised, as he asked, "Fight? What fight?"

"This is a world at the gods' whims," Kain explained. "Battle is all that matters in this world. If you are here, you haven't much choice in the matter - combat will find you sooner or later." Then, turning away; "But I would not seek out the fight if you were not certain who your allies were. See there?"

Ramza and Ace followed his gaze to find a pair of great towers looming out of the landscape. One was shining white and blue, turning mechanically; the other was dark and streaming with flames. "Those towers are home to thrones. Upon each throne, you will find a god who has invoked champions to fight on their behalf. Might I offer to lead the way?"

"...I think I'll pass," Ace insisted, walking forward.

The two towers were so spaced that it was clear which his destination was; Kain showed visible concern when Ace was traveling towards the dark tower. Ramza was not particularly fond of that sight either; he quickly started after him, asking, "Wait, where are you-?"

"We're closer to that one," Ace insisted. "The Vermilion Bird has guided me this far, I'm gonna put my faith in the fire."

Kain started forward. "I would not be so quick to-"

He was interrupted when Ace glanced over his shoulder with a call of, "I'll thank you to spare me the lecture, MOG."

Disbelief was palpable on Kain's face. "Did he just call me a..."

Ramza sighed. "O Father, help us sinful children..."

Kain grasped his shoulder before he could follow Ace forward. "You mean to go with him?"

"Yes," Ramza confirmed, "but not for like of his reasoning."

He shrugged free and resumed his pursuit; Kain only sighed before propping his lance over his shoulder. "It's like Lightning and Vaan all over again.

 


	2. Open the Gate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco's a Terra/Onion shipper. I saw him squee when he fought a CPU Terra and a CPU Onion and realized that he is a Boy and she is a Girl. I mean, really? If that's enough to get you squeeing over your ship, I'd hate to see what'll happen if they give those two a teaser in any upcoming story DLC.
> 
> Back to the fic. You know how memoria unlocks groups of it once you get to the individual teams? Each chapter in this fic is going to be one of those groups, rather than me breaking them into cutscene-fight-cutscene.

A portal in the air had appeared on Ace's route to the flaming tower. Ramza had been mildly concerned when he had leapt into it without hesitating, but getting closer had revealed that there was an expansive river behind it that they were not like to get across in the traditional manner. As like as not, Ace had assumed the portal would get him across it; and so Ramza elected to follow him into it.

He was rather surprised to find he was standing in an entirely different place on the other side - after a moment, he realized that his feet were on solid land... and that solid land was  _in the air_.

Ace was looking around, bemused; as Kain came through the portal, he turned to them. "Hey, you guys can see this floating island thing, right?"

"Yes," Ramza confirmed, "why do you ask?"

"...I'm due for a checkup."

Kain chuckled, stepping forward. "The gateways of this realm host battlegrounds taken from the memories of champions," he explained. "May well be that one of our allies has witnessed this place."

"One of our allies?" Ramza echoed. "You mean to say there are more?"

The dragon knight turned to him. "Did you think less than a half-dozen men capable of representing one side of a war?"

At once, Ace and Ramza replied, "Yes."

Kain raised an eyebrow at them.

"...Mayhap not a war between nations," Ramza admitted, "but gods tend to be more selective."

Footsteps nearby - the same sort of footsteps that had interrupted his meeting with Ace, each followed by the faintest ringing like a glass struck lightly. Kain turned back around to see three crystal figures approaching, and he quickly stepped back as Ramza drew his sword. One was dark cobalt, an armoured knight holding a weapon somewhere between spear and sword; one was a deep purple, wearing a furred coat and carrying a sword with a revolver as its hilt; and one was an orange figure, with no garb on its upper half to obscure the muscled figure it possessed, and a massive blade with an anchor-like tip dragging behind it.

"More of them?" Ace raised his hand, causing his card to appear in his grip. "What are they?"

"Manikins," Kain replied. "Imitations of champions, born from the Rift. Show them no mercy, for they have none!"

He charged forward, lance-first; the phantasm and the lion leapt aside, but the knight had no chance to react before the blow connected, and he twisted into a flip to send the foe flying. Kain leapt after it as the purple manikin's gun-hilted sword was swung; Ramza used the opportunity to charge forward, dealing a swift slash to leave the foe reeling and then another knock it back; the orange one's blade was raised, but a hand of cards flew forward and struck it, lifting it off the ground as Ramza pursued the lion. The phantasm turned to Ace and charged, but the cadet only tossed a card lightly before him, and it began to grow as he arced into a spin and swept his hand skyward.

A twister of cards burst from around the great one; the manikin was knocked into the air, and Ace flicked a card into the air, whereupon it turned pale grey. He promptly twisted a full hand and hurled them at the manikin; dominion magic formed an orb around the gathered cards before they had left the range of his fingertips, and when it slammed into the phantasm the cards battered him before sending him flying. Ace promptly swirled another hand before him, causing it to form a ring; when he pressed his hands against the magic gathering in the center of that ring, three streams of light surged forward, arcing through the air and slamming into the manikin again.

The mid-flight jolt as they connected provided a perfect midair target for Kain, who had sent the knight flying over a ridge. He quickly drew his lance back over his shoulder, and it was wrapped in light before he hurled it at the foe; it blasted once it had connected, leaving crystal shards raining across the battlefield as his weapon reappeared in his grip. Ace's cards flying again drew his attention back to his opponent, who had gone from purple dark knight to silver paladin; Kain quickly leapt away as it landed weapon-first, and a blast of wind was projected from his lance to knock the manikin back into the air. He promptly leapt up to it, stabbing it once and then twice with his lance before slashing with the length to knock it back.

The knight landed before Ramza, who had just sent his own foe flying. He quickly braced his blade in both hands; then, his sword moved in powerful swings that could have rent the armour his foe wore... were it a separate piece from its wearer. Instead, his blows shattered the manikin's leg and then its arm before he brought the weapon down upon its helm and split the enemy in two; winds seemed to intensify around him as the pieces fell to earth, lifeless. The lion's echoing yell drew Ramza to leap away, its gun-hilted sword missing him by moments; without even touching the ground, Ramza raised his hands and swung them downward, causing a shining blue magick to descend upon his foe and blast, throwing it over the ledge.

The manikin managed to right itself as its momentum died; it turned to the nearest enemy, and found it behind a ring of fire.

Ace released the charge on his spell, and three blasts of Firaga RF surged forward in succession. The lion leapt aside from the first, but the second wrecked its blade, and the third tore through the upper half of its body and left it in shards; as the last embers faded, the manikin's legs fell to their knees and then collapsed, leaving the battlefield empty save for Ace and his allies.

He turned to Kain as Ramza leapt down from over the ledge. Beckoning with his hand, the dragon knight led the other two across the floating continent, whereupon another portal manifested in the air. Uncertain, the two of them followed him through it.

They came out in the same barren environs as they had entered the first portal from; but the flaming tower was much closer. When Ace stepped around the portal, he found himself staring at the river again - and he could see the portal on the opposite end through which they had gone earlier. "Huh."

Ramza turned to him, surprised. "What?"

"Didn't think that'd work like that," Ace admitted, starting towards the flaming tower again.

Kain gaze after him for a moment before turning to Ramza. "Is this why you chose to follow him?"

Ramza nodded. "Yes. He mentioned others. I'm left with the impression that... he and his companions were near to death when he was brought here."

"Given the state he was in," Kain observed, "you may be right."

They started walking after him. "I've seen this happen before," Ramza admitted. "Those who have lost many dear to them are easily tempted to rush headlong into battle without a care for their own well-being. If they can strike down their enemy, all the better... but if they fall first, they will not fight to stay awake."

"And you mean to stop him from doing so?" Kain asked.

"I cannot stop him from fighting," Ramza denied. "I hope only that he will rest at some point before the battle claims him, that I can convince him to cease his pursuit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enemy Rank: Silver  
> -Flickering Knight (Cecil)  
> -Otherworldly Lion (Squall)  
> -Fleeting Phantasm (Jecht)
> 
> ...This doesn't have a whole lot to do with the story. I'm just kinda designing this to reflect each character's streams, so if you want to try and recreate the chapter's fights, this would be the setup you want. Kinda wish they would let you pick manikins as your enemies.


	3. Meeting with Spiritus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally, at this moment, would have the cutscene preceded by a summon fight so as to give you some combat for your memoria. But I'm not going to dictate one. All the summons are taken, no new ones have been announced, and I don't want to come up with one.

Kain had to admire the endurance of his traveling companions; Ace had been walking non-stop since they'd left the last gateway, and Ramza had shown no difficulty in keeping up. The dragon knight was feeling the burn, but he had said nothing - though more comfortable with air travel than travelling on foot, he was no stranger to the tire necessary in maintaining a march.

They were nearly at the flaming tower - and at the base was a familiar armoured figure, who seemed to be equally pleased to see him.

"Kain!"

"Golbez." A smile rose on Kain's face. "It is good to see you."

"I feared I would not again," Golbez admitted. "I am pleased to see I was mistaken."

Ramza turned to him. "Another veteran in this war?"

"Yes," Kain confirmed, "and a friend from home, what's more."

"Why have you come here?" Golbez inquired. "So early that the gods barely know one another - you could not have come here from her domain."

Ace was the one who spoke up. "I've come to speak with your god," he explained. "Show us to the throne."

Golbez nodded. "Very well."

* * *

The 'throne', as Ace referred to it, was hot. Kain could feel it before they even stepped in. And that was despite the open-air nature - the building seemed to hold a pillar of molten stone flowing in the center, and the throne had it bare to expose its heat to those standing there, such that any cool air that might reach in from beyond the unbordered floor would offer no reprieve.

The one who stood there, upon a raised portion of the area, was not the god that Kain was expecting, no monstrous entity born of discord. Rather, he looked nearly human, with dark skin and long silver hair. Markings around his eyes seemed to form tears, and around his lips seemed to form a carved smile; flames burned around his forearms, where there were further marks like he had been slashed by the claws of some beast. He wore a hakama whose hem was emblazoned with flames, snow, and gales, and in his left hand, braced across his back, was gripped a large blade of dark metal.

When he spoke, it was with a calm, but commanding voice. "Golbez, who are these?"

Goblez seemed about to speak, but Ace managed to interrupt him in silence; he stepped forward, earning everyone's attention and the protests of Ramza, and to their surprise he knelt to one knee and set his arm over his leg.

"My name is Ace. The world I come from is called Orience. When I arrived in this world, I was told that we are summoned here by you gods, to fight on your behalf. Your domain burns with fire like I have served for all my life. If you are the one who summoned me, I will fight at your command - as I did by that of the Vermilion Bird."

Kain dared not speak; the god seemed to regard Ace with curiosity. After a moment, he began to step down from the rise.

"What do you think yourself, that you believe to have been summoned by this cruel heart? All those I have called here were filled with sin - conquerors, destroyers, murderers. Those who commanded suffering on innocents, or those who dealt that suffering with their own hands. What are you, to serve Spiritus?"

He swung his sword from his back, turned it in his grip, and slammed it to the floor.

"Look at me."

Ace turned his gaze up to face the god - and Spiritus reached his right hand forward, seizing Ace with his thumb poised under the boy's eye. The flames on his forearms began to burn brighter, and Ace gasped as they grew thicker, obscuring the flesh beneath. Ramza cried out, making to charge forward, but Kain and Golbez held him back.

"Ah... now this is interesting. A heart of darkness - but a darkness innate to it, a favour from the realm of death. A spirit conditioned for battle, tempered by six hundred million lives, and a mind willing to kill, unafraid to carry the burden of taking a life. You are a champion of war unlike anything this world has ever seen. But this..."

The flames started to die down.

"Love. Family's love - and grief. You fight not for the thrill of fighting. You do not kill for the pleasure of taking a life. You act for, and alongside, those you love. And you have lost them. You came to this realm without the family you have known your whole life... and you mourn them. You know they have not survived as you have, and so you grieve."

His hand left Ace's face, and the gambler slumped forward, panting in surprise as Spiritus stepped back. "You are not one of my champions."

"What?"

The god stepped away, ascending the rise again, and as Ace got to his feet he turned back. "Materia called you here, not I. You have known the cruelty of war, but you have never relished in it, and never sought it out. You acted in intention to save the world - and you tried, again and again, until you succeeded."

Ace cursed under his breath. "Then... you won't order me?"

"You are not mine to order," Spiritus insisted. "If you so desire to serve a god, go to Materia and tell her what you have told me." Then, turning his gaze to the others. "And what of you two? Do you think yourselves sinful?"

Golbez took the opportunity to speak. "Kain is a returning champion to this world, as I am," he explained. "In the past, he served Materia's predecessor."

"Yes," Kain confirmed. "I only accompanied these two out of concern for their unfamiliarity with this world - I did not share their belief."

" _His_ belief," Ramza corrected suddenly - and that earned him everyone's attention, as Ace's advance had. "I-I, too, accompanied Ace out of concern."

Ace stepped towards him. "Concern for what?"

"That one strikes me as familiar with those who feign ignorance," Spiritus proclaimed, causing Ace to turn to him. "He knows you are grieving. He means to stop it from killing you."

The dealer's gaze fell as he realized what he had been doing.

Spiritus gave a jerk of his head, beckoning them to retreat. "Walk on, wandering souls."

* * *

"If you knew, why didn't you say anything?"

Ace's accusation as they arrived back at the base of the tower earned him a defensive parting of Ramza's hands. "Mayhap you could inform me when I ought have seized the opportunity," he argued. "You began to march towards this place ere I could say much but my name, and have not ceased save to ponder those portals' workings. Unless you believe I could hold a proper conversation amidst a clash with those... manikins, I've not had the chance to say aught at all."

Kain stepped forward. "Perhaps now, you will allow me to lead the march?" he asked. "I believe I know a route we might take to make our way to the other one."

"...Sure," Ace admitted. "Lead the way."


	4. Nothingness and Wyrmlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, we have a fight with a proper opponent. With my refusal to shoehorn in a summon, I might round this fic out with four fights total. Most of the characters' storylines concluded at four fights and a standalone cutscene on either end, so I can justify last chapter as me simply reordering. There are two references I want to make and I can't force them into one chapter.
> 
> Also, has anyone else noticed that the cutscenes -before- the fights all feature the battlefields' states from the start, and the cutscenes -after- the fights all feature the battlefields' states after two casualties? I think the reason that the Promised Meadow didn't get featured as such is because it's backwards compared to the others in terms of aesthetics in each state. So I'm going to write the cutscene-esque parts as the stage proceeding backwards. (These changes are purely aesthetic anyways).

The route that Kain led Ramza and Ace along took them to another gateway - and this one found them in a field full of flowers. The dragon knight found himself coming to a halt purely by the sight of the scenery, for this was a far more peaceful location than any he knew; Ace found himself rubbing at his eyes, and Ramza knelt down and plucked a blade of grass from beneath the flowers.

"It's... beautiful," Ace murmured.

"Yes," Kain confirmed. "Nearly sacrilegious, to think of it as a battlefield."

Ramza got to his feet. "Beauty does not save a thing from conflict," he bemoaned. "But these flowers would not live for evermore, nonetheless. And do we not all adore the poignant beauty of falling flower petals?" He raised the grass blade towards his lips.

The sound of something lashing through the air stopped him from blowing into it.

Ace acted quickly, hurling a hand of cards skyward; Ramza leapt aside, and Kain over him, as a pair of green, serpentine lengths swung forward. They missed the dragon knight by moments, and their source was struck by the dealer's hand - a female figure, wearing a long cape and nothing else that could be considered clothing (although a few strange splotches across her skin managed to preserve her modesty, albeit scarcely), descended until it was floating just above the ground.

Ramza and Ace each had the attention of one of the tentacles, but the main body's eyes were on the veteran.

"Kain Highwind."

The dragon knight braced his spear in two hands. "The Cloud of Darkness," he returned. "I have no reason to be surprised."

"When last we saw you, you had only just arrived to join your companions at the gate to the Rift. Already you were battered and worn, and the tide of manikins marching forth was more than sufficient to wear your allies down even as they sought to close the gate. How have _you_ come to survive?"

"I cannot say," Kain admitted - and the tentacles turned towards him with hisses. "What of you? Were you not the one who gave us our heading? Directed us to the gate, that we might stem the flow?"

"Every war requires pawns. We have learned to tolerate the Rift's abominations."

Crystalline footsteps drew Ramza's attention; he turned, drawing his sword, and was terrified when he saw a dark blue, crystalline imitation of  _him_ drawing a blade of identical shape. Ace glanced around in fear of finding a third combatant, and find it he did - a figure in deep red, imitating his every edge and brandishing a card of its own. Kain glanced at the dealer's manikin and then the heretic's before turning his gaze back to the Cloud of Darkness.

"We will not shy from your advance!"

"We expect nothing less!"

He dashed forward, and before the Cloud could strike at him, Kain leapt at a skyward angle spear-first; the blow knocked the wraith into the air, and Ramza followed suit and charged his imitation with his sword raised. The memory made to leap aside, but Ramza swung his blade through the air in a horizontal blow, sending a slash of wind that struck his opponent all the same. Ace hurled a single card at the same instant as his imitation flung an entire hand at him; Ace's hit first, and he warped to where the card had connected and twisted into a spin, his hand trailing cards and throwing the delinquent to the ground.

Ace promptly tossed a hand, forming an orb around it with dominion magic; this one moved slowly, and as the manikin made to avoid it, it walked right into Ace's following barrage. The orb struck just before his fourth round did, the one-two blow knocking his opponent across the battlefield; Ramza fended off his manikin with a well-aimed tackle and leapt away, landing back-to-back with Ace as he flicked a card into the air, where it turned red. The two exchanged glances and promptly switched targets, and Kain - spear-against-tentacle with the Cloud of Darkness - took note of their positions as they moved in the brief opening he had.

The head of his spear was bathed in dragon's fire, and he lashed it into one, two, three, four blows that broke the Cloud's every attempt to defend; a fifth blow sent her flying, reeling across the battlefield, and he landed only briefly before dashing after her again. Ace promptly spared her a bombardment of Jackpot Shots that had her weaving in an effort to evade - making Kain's next attack land much more easily, but also causing the dealer to very nearly be struck by Ramza's manikin. He quickly manifested a great card beneath it to knock it into the air; another flick gave him a second red card before the memory landed roughly and back-first.

Ramza saw his imitation left open and quickly invoked a magickal blue light from above it; the blast of Ultima connected and threw the manikin off its feet the instant it was back on them. Ace's manikin hurled a single sharp card at him, but Ramza only met it on a swing of his sword before charging forward; the delinquent had no opportunity to react before he collided with it shoulder-first, and as his momentum died, his feet connected with the ground just long enough for him to turn and propel his  _other_ shoulder into the opponent. The stun lasted long enough for Ace to seize the red cards floating above him and hurl them at the manikin; they collided with a powerful blast that left the manikin wide open.

The memory made to slash at Ace's open back; the dealer only stepped aside, and dominion magic glowed in his hand before he let a Blizzard BOM burst around him. The delinquent was still getting to its feet when Ramza drew one hand back; then he brought it up in an uppercut, sending a wave of flame and stone ripping out of the earth.

The flowers around them seemed to recede, leaving the earth barren, as both manikins hit the ground and shattered - and across the battlefield, Kain was still clashing blows with the Cloud of Darkness. A scattering of void energy gathered in her hands, but Kain jumped heavenward as it burst forward, a scattering of darkness that faded in the air without contact. The Cloud barely had time to raise her gaze before the dragon knight turned in the air and dove towards her spear-first.

Something soared in the way of his strike - something shining gold, and leaving dark emptiness where it trailed.

One does not become a dragoon without reaction time; Kain abandoned his strike and twisted mid-fall, arcing around the dragon's path without so much as brushing the darkness and landing before the Cloud on both feet and one hand, his spear braced behind him. Ace and Ramza were caught off-guard by the figure's sudden appearance - it seemed to be a  _serpentine_ _dragon_ , covered in golden scales, and the emptiness around it seemed to extend across the battlefield in trails.

For a brief moment, Kain and the Cloud stood facing one another; then they quickly turned back to back, Kain bracing his spear and the Cloud taking a defensive stance. "Is that-!?"

The void wraith's gaze locked onto the wyrm; and her hands neared one another before her as Void energy gathered between them.

"You have no place in this world!"

Ace could only watch in amazement as the Cloud lashed her hands apart - and the energy gathered between them  _blazed_ forward, a massive, unidirectional blast that put every explosion and most magic he had seen back home to shame. To his horror, however, it didn't seem to do anything to the wyrm when it struck - in fact, as he watched it surge forward, it seemed to  _pass around its trail_ , unpenetrating.

"What!?"

The dragon soared skyward, and its emptiness began to spread.

Ramza cursed. "It's gone!"

Ace started towards the Cloud, who was glancing at her hands. "What just happened?" he demanded. "You blasted that thing like an Ultima Bomb and it didn't do anything!"

Kain turned around. "Tell me that wasn't what I think it was."

"...How we long to. The wyrm is eating away at the memory of this battlefield. The gaps in reality it leaves in its wake shield it. It cannot be harmed in these grounds."

She lifted off the ground, gazing at Kain dismissively.

"We shall depart this place. You and your allies ought do the same."

Then, before anyone could argue, she continued skyward, and seemed to vanish into the air.

Ramza turned to Kain. "You know of that thing?"

"More than just of it," Kain confirmed. "That creature plagued this world in the past. I thought it departed with the deaths of Cosmos and Chaos. Damnations!"

He drove his spear into the ground angrily, and Ace glared in the direction the Cloud had gone. "What now?" he said. "We just do as she says and run?"

"Would you rather we lingered here until that wyrm has consumed this place entirely?" Ramza asked. "Let it devour you as well, or worse, leave you condemned to the emptiness until starvation takes you?"

Ace was silent.

Kain glared at him. "You will not!"

"Dammit," Ace growled. "Dammit!"

He charged forward as a portal appeared before him; he leapt into it, and Ramza and Kain pursued him in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enemy Rank: Gold  
> -Cloud of Darkness  
> -Discarded Delinquent (Ace)  
> -Mutable Memory (Ramza)
> 
> The summaries of the fight scenes in Dissidia NT proclaim that manikins aren't even a threat anymore. A fight with two champions and a manikin might be a problem, but I'd like to think that a fight with a champion and two manikins is just a case of ganging up on the champion at every opportunity.


	5. Alignment of Desires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda disappointed they took out the character-specific versus quotes because this matchup was just waiting to happen ever since Ramza was announced.
> 
> Well, my reference won't be happening, and I was fooling myself when I thought I was going to make this fit nicely on the existing paths' strategy.

"...Will someone please confirm that I am seeing things?"

Ace only shook his head as Ramza's request. The next portal they had entered had deposited them in a place that would best be described as 'bleak and featureless', a dark stone surface covered in craters. That being said, a short distanced ahead of them was visible a  _massive, crystalline structure_  that looked like a palace, and floating in the sky was what looked like an ocean-covered _world_.

"If you mean the fact that this place looks like a  **moon** ," he replied, "then, no. I can see it too."

Kain stepped forward, glancing at them curiously. "Are champions from my world the only ones who have left the surface of their land?" he inquired.

Ramza shook his head. "The destinations in which I have arrived after leaving the surface of my land tended to be a bit more... demonic."

"Then you won't be opposed to treating with angels."

The voice from the side had everyone turning; Ace reacted first, hurling a hand of cards forward, only to find them connecting with a blade longer than could plausibly be wielded... by a normal individual. Although they failed to strike the silver-haired figure who had his left hand on its grip, the dealing did slow his flight imperceptibly - and with the speed at which he could move his sword, that imperceptible slowdown was enough for Ramza to draw his own and cross it.

Shock rippled across Ramza's face when he saw that of his opponent. "Impossible!"

He could say no more before the silver-haired warrior's weapon moved, throwing Ramza's blade back and then striking him hard enough to send him flying. He managed to right himself as Kain leapt heavenward to evade another blow; Ace hurled a lone card that struck nothing but a few long silver strands, but collided with the lunar terrain behind him and left him surrounded by opponents.

Ramza turned his blade forward. "You're-!"

"No," the enemy replied. "I don't think so."

"What?"

He raised his nodachi forward, aiming it at Ramza. "You seem to think we've met before," he observed, "but I can assure you, I've never seen your face. Such false recognitions are not unheard of in this world."

"Sephiroth." Kain's demand drew the warrior's attention. "What reason do you have to be here?"

A smirk rose on Sephiroth's face. "You've seen it, haven't you? The beast."

Ace realized a recognition between these two. "You're another veteran, then?" he demanded. "What was that thing?"

"They call them 'planesgorgers' - fragments of the dragon from old. They are consuming the power that is born from conflict, robbing this world of its sustenance." Sephiroth's gaze flickered upward. "The gods wish only to keep this world alive, but they are unaware of its plague... or that they share a common goal."

Kain seized his lance in two hands. "A common goal?" he demanded incredulously.

"No," Ace insisted, "that makes sense."

Sephiroth turned to him. "Oh? This one seems to have some understanding of gods and their clashes."

Ace flinched under his gaze. "The gods in my world never appeared the way these ones do," he admitted, "but the myths talk about this. Two that stand in opposition, but working towards the same goal. Why would the gods here be any different? Spiritus knew I was one of Materia's champions, but he didn't try to kill me."

"What, then, is your end in all of this?" Ramza demanded, causing Sephiroth to turn back to him. "You do not strike me as one to bow to a god's whims."

"The dragon has wronged us - and he will wrong you, in time." He held out his empty right hand. "I would relish in the opportunity to strike him down, and if doing so aids the gods, that is just a side effect."

Kain shook his head. "These fragments, the planesgorgers - you cannot strike them. They eat away at these memories of battlefields."

"Then we need only to lure it  _out_ of the memory." Sephiroth raised his weapon, grasping it in both hands and aiming it at the dragon knight. "And that means we need to bait it - with power born of battle."

Crystalline footsteps had Ace sighing, glancing out the corner of his eye to see a manikin approaching - a rose-coloured woman in armour, with a long sword in one hand and a shield affixed to her arm. Ramza turned to find another manikin approaching him - a young man of gold in armoured leggings, fingerless gauntlets, and an open vest, carrying a short sword in his grip. Kain glanced at the two manikins before aiming his lance at Sephiroth with a smirk.

"If that means what I think it does... I owe you my thanks."

"I hope your gratitude won't make you hold back."

He charged forward, raising Masamune; and the manikins echoed the action, pushing Ramza and Ace to action. Ace leapt aside from the glimmer's dash and quickly knocked it into the air with a twister of cards; then he hurled an orb-wrapped hand at it to batter its form before throwing it back towards Ramza. The sky pirate's attacks had been sidestepped with ease, and Ramza quickly slashed it off its feet with a pair of turning slashes, causing it to collide with Ace's launched manikin; then he raised his hand, drawing down a blast of Ultima while Ace fired off a trio of Jackpot Shots.

The manikins had recovered by the time the magick faded; the sky pirate rushed Ace, driving one fist into the ground and invoking a spiral of red that sent the dealer flying, while the glimmer dashed towards Ramza and twisted into a spinning blow. Ramza managed to evade it with a leap similar to - though much less impressive than - Kain's, quickly twisting into one strike and then turning into a counter-spin for another; the rose manikin was sent flying, and he charged after it as the gold one landed where he had just been. Ace hurled a hand wrapped in a slower orb, causing it to leap away - but Sephiroth, skidding back from the force of Kain's blow, had no such luxury.

The hand collided with his side, stunning him enough to keep him from evading as Kain dashed forward; a twister was flung forward as he leapt into the air, and the gales battered Sephiroth and quickly sent him skyward as well. Kain proceeded to dive forward at an earthward angle, the spear-first blow knocking Sephiroth away as Ace's cards passed beneath them; they collided with the glimmer as she was about to strike at Ramza, and four hands earned enough time for Ramza to gather his magick. A blast of holy light ripped out of the earth and ascended heavenward, shattering the manikin as it did so; Ramza turned to the sky pirate and found a whorl of white slamming into him without warning.

Ramza was sent flying as Ace charged forward; the manikin made to pursue Ramza, leaving it wide-open to a lone card flung at its back at high speeds. It connected hard enough to stun it, and the dealer quickly appeared behind it with a swirl of cards trailing his hand to knock the manikin to the ground; then magic gathered in his hand, and as the manikin got to its feet he unleashed a Thundara SHG that left it in shards.

He failed to see Sephiroth coming up behind him before the angel dove down with his sword braced hellward; the blade missed him by moments, but its impact with the ground sent stone ripping out of the lunar surface, throwing Ace into the air. Sephiroth quickly drew his blade out, and dark feathers seemed to manifest around the blade as he brought it back to swing.

Something collided with his face, throwing his attention off.

He barely had time to realize it had been nothing but a pebble before Kain was standing behind him, and the dragon knight launched into the air with a twisting, spear-first rise that send Sephiroth flying. A portal seemed to appear in his path, and the angel was sent tumbling through it; the length of his blade meant the tip was still visible when Kain, Ace, and Ramza started chasing after him.

* * *

There was someone else at Sephiroth's side when Materia's wayward champions emerged from the portal. Kain managed to meet the attacking tentacles on his lance, while Ace and Ramza were left skidding to an awkward stop; the Cloud of Darkness quickly drew back as Sephiroth stepped forward, Masamune held in a reverse grip that left its blade rising behind him.

"Now... watch."

After a worrisome moment, Ramza turned his gaze to the portal behind them. Within, he could see a strange, shining crystal... yet it wasn't long before a familiar emptiness began to pervert the image. The crystal shattered against the planesgorger's advance, and Ramza quickly leapt aside; as Ace turned, he saw the wyrm emerge from the portal, but the emptiness that surrounded it did not follow it out.

A card was flung into the air, turned grey, and was quickly seized and hurled at the planesgorger; the brief stun that ensued was enough for the Cloud of Darkness to raise a hand forward, and Void energy manifested a curve before it. That curve expanded, circling the wyrm and causing it to curl in an effort to escape - but the sphere closed, and the manifestation was trapped within as she drew it near.

"We shall take this to Spiritus - that he might know of this threat. What will you do?"

That question was directed at the trio of champions; Ace only shook his head. "We haven't even met Materia yet," he admitted, glancing towards the shining tower - to his dismay, it seemed to be further away than it was when they had entered the portal. "I feel like we're running in circles."

"The gateways have grown fickle," Sephiroth observed. "You may well travel until this world dies and never reach her."

"Do not say that," Ramza reprimanded. "If a thing is endeavoured-"

"What do you mean, until the world dies?" Ace interrupted. "You make it sound like..." He paused, realizing what he was implying. "It can't be that close already."

"It was already on the verge before we were called to serve the gods. These manifestations have been feeding on every mote of energy any of the champions have generated. If drastic measures are not taken, this world will founder ere long."

The Cloud's words had Kain taking a single, powerful step forward. "There must be something we can do," he proclaimed. "I will not stand idly by!"

Sephiroth turned to him with an amused smirk. "Oh? You, who fell in this world once already? I did not expect you to care so much for it."

Kain shook his head. "Not all roads have a future waiting at their end," he reprimanded. "But that does not mean the journey cannot be cherished. I  _do_ cherish my journey in this world. If the gods will keep this world alive, I will not hesitate to defend it."

Ramza and Ace exchanged unnerved glances - recognizing the passion with which he was willing to act.

"If you will fight nonetheless, then be sure to time your battle wisely."

All eyes went to the Cloud as she raised the planesgorger before her, and her tentacles hissed at the manifestation threateningly.

"Already, the others are seeking to inform Materia and Spiritus of this plague. Once they have heard, they will not stand idly by - whether they be gods or their champions, all will unite to be rid of the dragon. He will be lured out, and struck down - and if his attention is drawn to an assault, he will be in no condition to rob the world of its lifeblood. That is when you must act."

Kain nodded. "And where can we find a clash great enough?"

"There is a great congregation of manikins in one of the gateways already. One end stands at Materia's domain - the other stands quite distant. If you are willing to put your life on the line to save this world once again, seek it out as you did the last. And when the dragon shows itself, enter the gateway, and face them."

Sephiroth smirked. "You fought well once before. I look forward to seeing you fight so well again."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enemy Rank: Platinum  
> -Cloud of Darkness  
> -Evanescent Glimmer (Lightning)  
> -Erstaz Sky Pirate (Vaan)
> 
> Writing Lightning and her manikins to have her Night Lotus shield because it appears in the FMV. Draco's got a whole ramble about that and a very small theory about why they didn't include it that he proclaims BS.


	6. To Lift the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody is going to hate me for this. I'm sure of it. Assuming more than one person ever reads this story, somebody is going to hate me for this chapter.

The Cloud of Darkness' direction found Kain, Ramza, and Ace wandering forward across the world, seeking out the gateway where they would find the mass of manikins. They found themselves approaching a tall mountain - where, they were certain, they would find the portal they were looking for - when their procession was brought to an abrupt halt.

Kain, at the lead, halted suddenly, one foot colliding with the ground and the other refusing to continue the motion.

Ace turned to him. "Something wrong?"

"I... It's nothing," Kain insisted. "Forgive me."

He took another step forward... and halted again. Ramza could see his body shaking, trembling in a manner not born from cold or quake, and his grip shifted uncomfortably upon his lance. Another step  - and this time he gasped as though in pain, falling to one knee and prompting his companions to dash up to him.

"Kain!" Ace knelt at his side. "Are you alright?"

"What's... going on?" Kain shook his head. "My body... won't move!" He made to rise, yet was barely halfway up before falling again.

Ramza looked over him. "What is it?" he muttered. "Did something strike you with some sort of paralytic?"

Kain shook his head. "It cannot be," he confirmed. "No manikin has this kind of power. And the champions have no such strength." He tried to pull himself forward. "We must... keep moving..."

"Slow down," Ace insisted. "You're in no condition to-"

"I will be fine!" Kain snapped. "We must... reach the gate!"

A worrisome realization dawned on Ramza, and he stepped back. "Kain... you need to wait here."

"What?"

Ace's gaze shot up to him. "Excuse me!?" he protested. "You want him to-"

"It's not something we can heal," Ramza insisted. "This isn't an ill of the body. It is in his mind."

Kain turned to him. "Do you accuse me of being addled by some...?"

Ramza shook his head. "No, I'm not. You're not mad - you're  _scared_."

"Now you're insulting me," Kain growled. "I won't-"

"No!" Ramza's sudden yell caught the dragon knight off-guard. "Kain, listen to me. I've seen this happen to knights and soldiers far too often. The human mind can only endure so much of the terrors of war before they can take no more. Sephiroth and the Cloud of Darkness said as much - you've fallen in this world before. You're scared of it happening again."

"I..." Kain winced, bowing his head. "What kind of knight is unwilling to take a risk, for the sake of defending what he loves?" he demanded. "I want to save this world!"

"But you don't want to  _die_."

Those words seemed to spark Ace's attention.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Ramza insisted. "Survival is the basest of human instincts. As much as you are willing to put your life on the line, you're already all too familiar with what it means to die in this world. You know the fear of death - you've learned the fear of confronting it. And in your heart, you don't want to face that again."

Kain was silent. He had no retort.

Ramza set a hand on his shoulder. "Ace and I will continue to the gateway. You rest here."

Then he got to his feet and started forward, and Ace offered Kain a reassuring glance before following suit. Kain knelt there, worried, for a long moment; then he turned and sat down, resigning himself to wait.

And he found his body had stopped shaking once he had.

* * *

"You know... I never had that fear, back home."

Ace's words, as they waited before the gateway for the dragon's appearance, drew Ramza's attention. "What?"

The dealer hand a card in his hand, and was turning it idly. "In my world, death was forgotten. When someone died, the crystals would wipe the memory of them from everybody in Orience. You could remember talking to somebody, but you would never remember what you said. You might learn something from an instructor, but you couldn't hold on to the memory of who taught you." He shook his head. "And not being able to remember when you friends died, meant that nobody really feared death... until it found them."

"Your family," Ramza recalled.

"My family didn't even get that," Ace admitted, and he sounded angry about it. "Mother was a sorceress like nothing anybody in Orience had ever seen. If we fell in battle, Mother just needed to see us, and we'd be brought back. It was more like taking a nap than taking a dip into the afterlife. As long as one of us was still standing, the other eleven would be fine."

Ramza blinked. "The other...?" Then, with a sudden forward lunge. "You have _eleven_ siblings?"

Ace was not expecting the conversation to go this way. "Um... yes?"

"Heavenly graces," Ramza exclaimed. "Your mother's heart must be of purest gold, if you all so care for her."

A small smile rose on Ace's face. "You're not wrong there," he admitted. His face fell. "But... then Tempus Finis came. The skies turned red, and the ocean was dyed black. Armoured monsters began to march all across Orience, and strike people down - and the wounds couldn't be healed.  _Everyone_ was suddenly at risk of dying. And when we found a way to stop it... the twelve of us were all dying by the time the sun rose."

Tears were rising in his eyes. "We thought we were ready for it... but we were deluding ourselves. When it came, when we knew we were dying, and there was nothing we could do to stop it... we were scared."

"That is nothing to be ashamed of," Ramza insisted.

"I'm not ashamed of being scared," Ace protested. "I'm ashamed for having fooled myself into thinking I wasn't." He shook his head. "We... we tried to pull ourselves together. Eight said we should... think about what comes next. Knowing that we didn't _have_ a next. We wanted to... to be smiling when we left." His voice was cracking. "We took all our weapons... and the capes that marked us as Class Zero... And we all gathered around it..." His hand tightened around his card. "And we waited for it... hand in hand."

Ramza remembered where he had found Ace - the monument of weapons, and a makeshift flag upon it. "That's why you were so determined to be struck down," he realized. "You know there is no way your family has survived in your world. But you were brought here, and because this world is different, you were able to survive."

"It's not fair," Ace insisted. "It's not! Why was  **I** the one-"

"I think that mayhap you won't be."

Ace turned to him. "What?"

Ramza sighed, turning away. "Kain was struck down in this world before," he reminded Ace. "Yet it seems that he was returned to his own world. No different than when he had left. And he was able to be called back to this world, because he had survived in that one." Turning back to Ace; "What does that tell you of us?"

"You mean..."

"I think so, yes," Ramza confirmed. "Come the end of this - whether we be felled, or this Materia sends us home - we will be just as we were when we departed. Which means that you will join your family on death's door... and accompany them into the beyond."

Ace opened his mouth to speak.

A great tremor interrupted him, and both Ace and Ramza found their gazes drawn forward. Some distance away - between the two domains of the gods - a powerful light was ascending heavenward. The two wayward champions shot to their feet as it pierced the clouds above; lightning rippled across the clouds when it faded, and then something _emerged_ from them - a long, continuous golden figure that seemed to gather itself before looming above.

A massive, golden dragon.

"Hallowed Pulse," Ace spat.

Ramza went for his sword. "Is that...? That is the creature Kain spoke of!"

Ace recalled why they were here. "He's out. That means his planesgorgers can't eat the energy from battle. We've gotta act!"

The heretic nodded - and the two of them leapt into the portal they had been waiting before as a fulgent rain was scattered from the dragon's wings.

* * *

Rain fell above him.

Stone was struck by his footfalls.

And around him lie the quiet environs of Orbonne Monastery.

All this Ramza took in by the time he and Ace had cleared their vision. Then the dealer held his card out at his side - and he began to sing, to tell their enemies he was there.

" _Walk on, wandering souls... For your respite we pray..._ "

Manikins began to appear around them. A hero with shield and sword. A stalwart with a great crushing blade. A liegeman covered in weapons. A despot with a long scepter. A youth armoured as the weakest and strongest of knights. A wraith with serpentine lengths writhing. A knight in shining plate. A warlock garbed in dark armour.

" _Let our humble song clear your hearts of dismay...._ "

A wanderer with a flowing cape. An armoured arbour with a gnarled blade. A maiden with an arcane blade in hand. A harlequin who seemed to tremble with magic. A mercenary with a great blade formed from many. An angel with a sword that seemed to extend into eternity. A lion with a revolver-hilted sword.

" _Rekindle the flames in your souls and set you free..._ "

A sorceress with great wings from her back. A bandit with twin swords held reverse. A reaper with magic at his sides. A diminutive matron brandishing a staff. A sky pirate with a sword grasped in one hand. A flash with a long blade and a pointed shield. A conjurer with feline ears and tail. A prince with a sword whose hilt was machine.

" _So walk on and become the light that guides the way..._ "

As Ace's song faded out, Ramza took one step forward, raising his sword. "Come on, then."

The manikins all raised their weapons, yet none seemed to be willing to make the first move.

Ramza took another step, this time slamming his foot to the ground in a fierce stomp, and this time he  _shouted_.

" **COME ON, THEN!** "

The manikins charged forward, and Ace and Ramza prepared themselves to meet them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I can't write a big badass battle sequence.
> 
> If you want to fight this one yourself, wait until Orbonne is available on the console version, then set the AI to Mythril difficulty and all three enemy slots to random and just keep fighting until you've fought every character at least once.
> 
> I noticed that they don't even give you a victory pose after you beat Shinryu. You get your battle results, but they don't let your champion pose, it's just straight to the credits.


End file.
